President Trump welcomed new Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on his first day in office for a White House “Farmers Roundtable” with 14 farmers and ranchers from around the country.

During the roundtable event, the president signed an Executive Order establishing an Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity “to promote economic development and revitalization, job growth, infrastructure, innovation, and quality of life issues for rural America.”

The executive order includes an emphasis on renewable fuels, stating that, “It is in the national interest to promote American agriculture and protect the rural communities where food, fiber, forestry, and many of our renewable fuels are cultivated.” One of the stated objectives of the task force is to “further the Nation’s energy security by advancing traditional and renewable energy production in the rural landscape.”

One of the farmer roundtable participants was Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey who told the Des Moines Register that he brought up ethanol during the session and said the president was very supportive.

Listen to Trump’s comments here: President Trump at White House farmers roundtable